Subpoenas issued in impeachment inquiry following blocking of ambassador deposition

Source: CNN



Subpoenas issued in impeachment inquiry following blocking of ambassador deposition

By Jeremy Herb, Katelyn Polantz and Manu Raju, CNN

Updated 6:35 PM ET, Tue October 8, 2019

(CNN)House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff on Tuesday called the State Department's blocking testimony of a key witness "strong evidence of obstruction" of Democrats' impeachment investigation, and the move prompted House Democrats to issue a subpoena in response.

The State Department on Tuesday directed US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland not to testify before Congress, scrambling Democrats' impeachment investigation and raising questions about whether they will be able to obtain testimony from other witnesses. But Schiff's sharp response to Sondland's absence is a sign of the escalating impeachment fight between the White House and Democrats.

"The failure to produce this witness, the failure to produce these documents, we consider yet additional strong evidence of obstruction of the constitutional functions of Congress," Schiff told reporters.
In addition to blocking Sondland's testimony, Schiff said the ambassador indicated he had text messages or emails on a personal device provided to the State Department that State was withholding from Congress.

The subpoena issued Tuesday evening demanded Sondland turn over documents by Monday, October 14, and appear for a deposition on Wednesday, October 16.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/08/politics/gordon-sondland-house-impeachment/index.html